DJ and producer of music, Jose Bernat, better known by Pépe, decided one day to pack his bags and start his musical escapade to the United Kingdom with sights of greener pastures. Known for its melting pot of cultures and more importantly musical genres, Brighton was the city which gained the interest of young Pépe. The city allowed him to absorb all the different sounds that were circulating in clubs, enabling the Valencian prodigy to start building his diverse repertoire of music, and make a splash in the musical pool. Plucking individual characteristics and sounds from a plethora of genres, Pépe then started to infuse all that he had learnt together, forming a very unique sound that many had not heard before, especially in the quirky cosmopolitan seaside city that was Brighton.
“DJ MAGS TRACK OF THE YEAR”
His debut release on the highly reputable label Lobster Theramin with “Lemon Fanta” received omnipresent recognition and was given “track of the Year” by DJ Mag in 2017. The tune was named as an ode to his childhood memories reliving his days in the beautiful coastal city of Valencia drinking Lemon Fanta on the terrace whilst eating paella.
From adding a typical jungle rewind on a house theme to the inclusion of sub-bass dubstep to an electro song, the Brighton scene appears to have made this young prodigy a true scientist of music, creating sounds that many can’t.
Pépe has successfully been making a name for himself in the game through his raw talent within producing and mixing music and has featured previously alongside the likes of Project Pablo, Session Victim and DJ Seinfield.
“I’ve been more concerned that my influences come from a place a little further away from dance music, I think that helps me a lot to create a unique sound”.
After coming into the spotlight, Pépe felt that responsibility and pressure that so many do in the industry to put out fresh and newfangled content. And when so many struggle, Pépe showed his true colours to anyone that thought that the successful run of tracks from this young Spanish virtuoso was to cease anytime soon. Disposing of the more conventional equipment used by the majority of artists and picking up new tools, Pépe did as he set out to do: steer clear of ordinary and familiar music to make his own unique sound that identified him and only him.
Growing up here, Pépe is one of the better-informed people about the electronic music scene out in Valencia, and has been able to view the transition this quirky city has experienced over the years. In its nascence, La Ruta del Bakalao built the foundations of what was to become the most vibrant and unique electronic movement that Spain had ever seen.
In 1980, the front-running clubs of La Ruta del Bakalao; Chocolate, Espira and Spook saw a vanguard of Spain’s most treasured music pioneers with Tony “el Gitano”, Juan “Torpedo” as well as the arrival in 1985 of Fran Lenaeres who would then go on to revolutionise the Techno scene, being the first to mix tracks at the same BPM and with unprecedented selecting skills. This period brought mass media which covered the scene in a very sensationalist way and created social alarm. The DJ’s at the time we no longer playing avant-guard underground music and saw a huge regression in music in terms of both quality and creativity which prompted the demise of the rave scene and the DJ’s which were at the heart of it.
The Noughties then saw a rebirth of the scene with several smaller clubs opening in more urban areas of Valencia, and with it came a new age of young aspiring artists who exhibited such talent that the presence an electronic renaissance was nigh. One of those artists was Pépe.
Preferring to remain anonymous with his short and indelible alias, Pépe traverses between many different musical genres and shows his true colours on all musical platforms, whether that be his recent mix for Rinse FM or his remix below of Drake’s Controlla. It’s very good may we say.
With a small yet bright discography, this young Valencian constantly has his head in record boxes to ensure catchy samples and fresh music always end up in his hands.
Pépe will no doubt continue bringing fresh music to all platforms and sets for a long time. We can’t wait to keep him playing him in theBasement studios and are delighted to be hosting him in Montanejos this coming May for our third edition of Dias de Campo.
Get your tickets for the Dias de Campo here
For bus here
theBasement team
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